The Greatest Treasure of Man
by JakOvsumTrade
Summary: Tracking down and retrieving ancient magical relics is a dangerous but freeing occupation. After years of being controlled, Harry has to decide what is more important to him: his freedom or his love?


AN: I promise the update to **Mirror of Erised **is coming. Just when I told my muse to give me ideas the spider spun up this little web to trap me in.

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Disclaimer: I don't own **Harry Potter**, obviously.

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_But someone's gotta be the lighthouse / And that someone's gotta be me - Little Wanderer, Death Cab for Cutie._

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"Come back to bed, mon cher."

Gabrielle Delacour reached one out of the covers to her beau but he was already standing and putting on his clothes.

"You know I can't, Gabbi. I have to get going. My portkey to Mexico City is due in only a few minutes."

"What I know is that I can give you a much better adventure than any stinking ruin. I even have a. . . moist cavern. . . for you to explore."

Harry gave a laugh while Gabrielle pouted that her innuendo did not get her what she wanted. At least she got a bit of a show as he dressed. The tight fitting trousers and shirt offered more than just good mobility and no dangling fabrics. When he started to strap on the metal plates he used as makeshift armor she sighed and rolled to face away from him.

"Oh, don't be that way," he had heard her, "I'll be back. I always come back, don't I?"

"You better," she said, displeasure clear in her voice, "and if you even think of laying with some local hussy-"

Her threat was interrupted as he rolled her back over and kissed her deeply. She hadn't heard him walk towards the bed. Not that she was complaining. Deepening the kiss, she grabbed the back of his head and tried to pull him on top of her. However, she was no match to his muscle and he wouldn't even budge. That's fine, she could cheat.

Immediately as if sensing her intentions Harry shot back and gently pulled her hands away from him, "Ah ah ah, no allure. You don't want me to have to punish you, do you?"

Seeing another opportunity Gabrielle leaped on it with no hesitation, "Oh, yes, mister Potter. I've been a bad girl. I need to be punished. A good spanking might set me straight, but I am a repeat offender so maybe something more is necessary."

Harry laughed again and drew away much to Gabrielle's disappointment, "Merlin, Gabbi. I love you so much but you're going to be the death of me."

"Those ruins you insist on delving are going to be the death of you."

"You better hope not cause then you won't be getting your fix of Potter."

She threw a pillow at him, which he dodged. "Just go already, you're so annoying." With a final laugh, Harry grabbed his tie-turned-portkey just in time for it to drag him through time and space to Mexico. "I love you too, you big goof," she whispered into the sudden silence, missing him already, "come back to me safe."

* * *

The magical district of Mexico was hidden much like the one of Britain, within the capital city. Unlike Magical Britain, however, Magical Mexico were not just a few streets but the remnants of Tenochtitlan hiding from the muggles underneath Mexico City. Seeing as how the city was founded over six centuries ago, some parts of the magical district were dangerous and out of bounds. It was exactly in one of those places that Harry Potter was venturing.

This was nothing new to Harry, he'd been hunting relics, treasures, and tomes for years now. Someone would contact him with a request, they'd come to an agreement, Harry would go out and get it, then he would be paid handsomely while whatever schmuck ordered his services ended up disappointed. Turns out advances in magic really were real, no matter how certain people felt, so ancient magic was outdated and lost magic was probably lost for a reason. This would be his most ambitious raid yet.

Unlike his past targets, the Obsidian Serpent would have people and not just old wards or traps guarding it. He had been warned that there were still priests of Huītzilōpōchtli residing within the temple he was to search, and they were unlikely to appreciate him taking one of their holy artifacts. So far his invisibility cloak had been enough to sneak by any patrolling priest he had run into, but he didn't expect that to last.

As if the universe was laughing at him, the next doorway he went through didn't take him to another of those seemingly endless corridors but instead to a large chamber with an open roof. Sunlight streamed down onto the raised dais in the center, around which were chanting priests. One had the most intricate piece of headgear Harry had ever seen, and was raising a wicked looking dagger above his head. Figuring the Serpent wasn't here, Harry tried to just sneak around the side and move on. Key word being tried.

As one, the priests turned to look at where Harry was standing under his cloak. The lead priest spoke, "Tenemos un intruso. ¡Muestrate!"

Figuring he was spotted anyways, Harry pulled off the cloak and put it into a pocket. "Didn't expect them to speak Spanish," he mumbled to himself, casting a translation charm, "Er, I'll just be heading out gentlemen, don't mind me."

"Xiuhtecuhtli revealed your presence to us, interloper, and Huītzilōpōchtli demands your life as sacrifice for your transgressions."

"Ah, well, see, no can do," Harry shook his head, "I'm a pretty big fan of my life, and I'll need it if I'm going to be getting the Obsidian Serpent."

The priests reared back as if struck before being overcome by rage. "The outsider wants the Serpent of the Sun. He must not get it!"

Harry sighed to himself as the priests rushed at him with their daggers, edges gleaming unnaturally in the bright light by some magic he was unfamiliar with. And this had been going so well.

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Gabrielle knocked three times on the door to Shell Cottage, her beautiful face lit up in an impossibly wide smile while her eyes showed her slight impatience. When the door finally opened and her sister appeared in the portal Gabrielle immediately grabbed her and began to babble in French at ultrasonic speeds.

"Oh, Fleur, isn't it wonderful! I'm so happy I could burst! Can you picture it? A little one of my own to play with yours! You will help me in raising her, won't you? I will of course keep helping with your children as I have been. Oh, I'm just so excited! I bet she'll be a powerful witch!"

Fleur pulled her sister into the house as she chattered on and sat her down seeing that Gabrielle was barely noticing her surroundings, "I'm sorry, Gabrielle, but what are you talking about?"

Gabrielle refocused on the present and shot her sister a bright grin, "Isn't obvious? I'm pregnant!"

Pregnant. Fleur's mind shut down. Her baby sister. Pregnant. "Is it...?" She was going to kill him.

"What, Harry's?" At this point all of Gabrielle's joy turned to anger. Her face grew sharp, nails lengthened into talons, and the air between them began to smolder, "Of course! How could you say such a thing! I would never ever cheat on my Harry! I have never so much as kissed another man."

"Forgive me, sister. I didn't mean to imply anything of the sort. I was just surprised. And, well, Harry isn't the most stable individual. I love him, and appreciate all he has done, but the direction he's chosen to take his life isn't what I would wish for the father of my sister's children. Though, maybe this will be perfect for him. Maybe this is exactly what he needs to finally settle down."

Gabrielle's mood once more shifted completely, this time from anger to horror, "Harry? On ho, what am I going to do? I can't ruin his life like this!"

Fleur looked on at Gabrielle's breakdown in confusion. "Ruin his life?" she asked, "I thought Harry had always wanted a family of his own? And he does love you, no matter how poorly he acts on it. Surely he would be overjoyed to learn you are pregnant."

Gabrielle shook her head, tears starting to fall from her electric blue eyes, "You don't understand. Harry loves his life. He loves the freedom it grants him. If I tell him I'm pregnant with his child he would give everything up to be with us, but it would ruin his current happiness. He's too good, he would never do anything for himself if it meant hurting someone he cared about. I can't chain him down like this."

A small laugh escaped Fleur before she could help herself and Gabrielle sent her a betrayed look. "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you, Gabrielle, I promise," she said, "I just think you are giving yourself and Harry too little credit. Sure, he's happy now but how do you know he won't be happier having a family with you? Don't you think it would be selfish to make a decision about this without him? You know he hates it when people act in what they think is his best interest without checking in with him first."

Gabrielle nodded but her eyes were still bloodshot and tears and snot still marred her face. Fleur sat down next to her and wrapped her up in a tight hug, "Just tell him next time you see him, I think he will surprise you. I know I've said many times that you should move on from him and find someone else, but of all the reasons to leave Harry, this is not one of them. You'll be fine, both of you, and you'll make it through this."

Wrapped up in her sister's arms, being rocked from side to side like she was a little girl once more, Gabrielle could only hope her sister was right and wonder where all the courage her love had inspired in her had gone.

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The sound of the door bell ringing alerted the Granger-Weasley household that someone was outside and, knowing who to expect, Rose ran as fast as she could to get there first and threw the door open.

"Uncle Harry!" A red haired missile collided with his middle and stuck on like a limpet, much as her mother had all those many years ago.

Harry patted her on the back with one hand, the other holding a bottle of expensive wine he had been told not to bring but did so anyways, "Hey there, Squirt.

Harry spent dinner telling the story of his acquisition of the Obsidian Serpent between bites of food as Hugo and Rose hung on his every word. A highly edited version, of course, but by his surreptitious glances at Hermione and Ron when they thought he was focused on something else he knew that they had read between the lines.

After dinner, the kids were told to go to bed. However, both were far too excited after listening to Harry and wanted more stories so Hermione took them upstairs herself to make sure they would actually go to sleep on time. As she ascended the stairs she sent Harry an apologetic look but in truth he was relieved not to have to sit through another Hermione Lecture™ about needlessly risking his life.

Ron and Harry moved to the living room and sat on opposite arm chairs, sipping on the wine Harry had brought having poured out whatever was left after dinner into their glasses. After a bit of small talk to catch up, Ron changed the subject back to Harry's occupation.

"So how much d'he pay you for it in the end?"

"Thirty thousand galleons."

"Thirty thousand! Galleons! Merlin's balls, that's retiring money that is."

"You know I don't do it for the money, Ron."

Ron became serious for the first time that night, "Listen, mate, you've had your adventures. They've nearly killed you several times. This time was nothing new. You should quit before you get in over your head. Hermione could certainly use your help with her crusade at the ministry and if you really feel you need more action the Aurors would sign you on in a heartbeat."

"Ron, I spent almost two decades of my life on this accursed grey rock," Harry met Ron's eyes, trying to convey just how serious he was in turn. "I have always done as I was told. Now I go to the most interesting and magical—"

"And dangerous."

"—places on Earth, beholden to no one. Not even my clients. Each of my contracts comes with an escape clause for me. If I want to do something, I do it. If I don't then I don't. You're my best mate, you of all people should understand. I'm living the perfect life right now. I won't give that up for anything."

"What about for Gabrielle?"

Harry froze with his wine glass raised half way, "Explain."

Ron, recognizing the cold voice as the one Harry used when he was not amused in the least, quickly did so, "A pretty veela bird like that? Sure, she's waiting for you for now, but how long do you think her patience is going to last? Do you really think she has no other options? Bill had to fight for Fleur everyday for years. And that was with her family supporting him. I know you might not want to hear this, but the Delacours aren't exactly happy with yours and Gabrielle's situation. Bill even told me that Fleur has been trying to get her to leave you."

Harry's hand tightened around his glass, fingers turning white. "Gabbi and I are happy with our arrangement," he forced out between clenched teeth, "so maybe everyone else should just mind their own business."

Knowing he was pushing his luck, Ron rushed on, "Maybe you should truly consider what you want out of life. I'm your best mate, you said so yourself. I know you best. I know you really care about Gabrielle. Do you think how you're treating her is fair? I know you want adventure, I get that, I do. But would it be too much to ask for you to tone down the danger aspect and up the fun aspect? Maybe bring along Gabrielle and a couple of sprogs?"

"I think I should go, it's getting late. I'll see you some other time, Ron. Give Hermione and the kids my love."

As he watched Harry step past the ward line and disapparate, Ron could only hope that something he said had managed to get through to his friend. Preferably before it was too late.

* * *

Gabrielle rolled off of Harry to lie at his side, both of them sweating and panting. "Ooo," she cooed, "Mon cher, that was magnific."

"For me too, Gabbi. Being," Harry hesitated, voice dying, but she sent him a questioning glance so he finished his thought, "being with you makes me happy. You make me happy. I love you, Gabrielle Delacour."

Happiness filled the young veela to the point she began to vibrate in place, "Oh, Harry, I love you so much." Then she remembered the news she had to break to him and simmered down. "There's something I need to tell you," she said in a small voice.

"There's something I should say, too."

Relief shot through her, "You go first." Maybe with a bit more time she would figure out how to say it without scaring him off.

Harry looked uncertain but nodded and began, "I love you, Gabbi, in a way I've never loved anyone before. Knowing I have you to come back to has kept me alive when I should have by all rights died. You've done so much for me, given me so much, and I've been so selfish.

"We've never spoken about this, I don't know if you even want this out of our relationship," Harry got off the bed and began rifling through the pockets of his earlier discarded pants. Gabrielle hyperventilated, having a good idea of what was coming. Finding what he was looking for, Harry stood and walked around to her side of the bed. He reached down and her hand easily slipped into his, fitting together like puzzle pieces. After gently pulling her up to stand beside him he knelt down, finally revealing the object he had hidden in his trousers. It was a black velvet box.

Tears were pouring down Gabrielle's face and she wasn't sure of when she last took a breath. Her heart was beating so hard and so fast she thought it a wonder it didn't burst right out of her chest. Harry slowly opened the box, and inside were three small diamonds that perfectly matched her eyes inlaid into a band the same color as her hair. It was elegant, understated, and just so Harry.

"I know I haven't been treating you as well as I should have, and I can't promise I won't occasionally run off to a remnant of a long lost magical society, but mostly I can't imagine not having you in my life. You're a more precious treasure than all the ones I've found so far combined. Will you, Gabrielle Delacour, marry this fool who's finally seen the light?"

"Oui! Oh, Harry, oui! Mon chen!"

Gabrielle jumped at Harry, knocking them both to the floor. Not that he could complain with her kissing all over his face. Taking a hold of her chin he angled her face so that their lips met and initiated a deep kiss. She instantly reciprocated, melting atop of him. For a while that was the entire world, just the two of them and their kiss. Eventually though the need for oxygen grew too great and they had to part.

Remembering something from before Harry asked, "What was it that you wanted to tell me earlier?"

"Oh," Gabrielle wasn't worried anymore but Harry had left her so flustered she didn't even know what to say anymore, "um, well, I'm pregnant. Surprise!"

As she watched his eyes widen to epic proportions and his jaw swing open Gabrielle gave a little giggle. It died when he didn't react for almost a full beginning to seep back into her, Gabrielle feared that maybe she had scared him off after all. She was about to pull away when his grip on her tightened.

"Wha-what?"

Before she could tell what was happening Harry had stood up, holding her in his arms. He kissed her once more, but she didn't get a chance to become an active participant as he threw her onto the bed. She bounced once, and when she stilled she sent a grin at Harry. The hungry way he was staring at her made her flush. He hadn't looked at her like that since she sent the full force of her allure at him years ago to show him she was a woman grown.

As Harry jumped onto the bed after her, her last thought before pleasure engulfed her mind was to wonder why she had ever been worried in the first place.

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**Jak needs YOU:** Yes, you. You can ignore this but if you respond than you can have a real impact on the future stories I write. Basically, in the first draft of this story Harry never proposed, Gabrielle chickened out of telling him she's pregnant, and when she woke up the next morning he was already gone. In the next scene when she finally worked up the courage to tell him she finds out he died on his last expedition.

That was how I automatically pictured this story going, and as you read it ended up in a very different place. My question is which kind of story do you prefer? One with a happy/hopeful ending or a tragic one? I always find myself writing tragedies but I much prefer to read happy stuff. Life is sad and hard enough already, I read to escape. Tell me what you think.


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